My Job 2014-11-04

[JSStryker]

Katherine, I do not envy the position you are in right now.

[scantrontb]

Well, at least Katherine KNOWS what she signed up for... she knows that Pickle could lash out in a fit of anger and kill her... and that the ONLY thing protecting her against it is her "Mommy Voice" and no-nonsense attitude...

[ArendJK]

The word 'Me' is missing from the thought bubble in panel 3.

[AnotherFairportfan]

Well, at least Katherine KNOWS what she signed up for... she knows that Pickle could lash out in a fit of anger and kill her... and that the ONLY thing protecting her against it is her "Mommy Voice" and no-nonsense attitude...

You forgot the chair and whip and revolver loaded with blanks...

[oldmanmickey]

Well shes not exactly powerless herself. She has to have learned a few things in her adventures but as a mama she has a whole range of powers if she wants to use them.

[Dave]

Well, at least Katherine KNOWS what she signed up for... she knows that Pickle could lash out in a fit of anger and kill her... and that the ONLY thing protecting her against it is her "Mommy Voice" and no-nonsense attitude...

I think it's going to be a balancing act... in one corner, warm sympathy and hugs, in the other, Mommy Voice and authority and attitude; in the third corner is Caution, trying to judge what's a safe distance to approach so she doesn't end up leaking entrails; in the fourth corner is cool rational explanation and a "see it from Atsali's point of view" exercise ...

Hmmm... I think she's going to need more corners. Maybe a cube (so she can envision things from a mutant hybrid Blackthrn child's abandonment-primed point of view and "see through" the angry from the inside)? She may even need a tesseract.

This is certainly no easy job she signed up for! Mama Bear is host-mothering a couple of wildcats!

[Atomic]

Hugs go a long way...

[Opus the Poet]

I do not envy Kath on this one, and I say that as the father of 3.

[AmriloJim]

Was unable to find who said it, but whoever called for Kath to put 'Sali in timeout while she diffused our bundle of emotional thorns nailed it.

[My2Cents]

Was unable to find who said it, but whoever called for Kath to put 'Sali in timeout while she diffused our bundle of emotional thorns nailed it.

That was me.

Kathryn actually has some things in her favor, starting with her promise to never leave Castela, that will help her calm the little vine down. Getting Castela to understand boundaries and personal space, and how her breaching Atsali's caused her to unthinkingly lash out, will be much tougher.

Remember Castela and Atsali shared a room in the orphanage, with Atsali as her acting big sister, and probably surrogate mother, so Castela is hurting more than from a spat in a normal family. This is a time when Kathryn will be transferring some of that bond to her, essential for when Atsali goes off on her own to a college/university and work.

Hopefully this will all end with Castela apologizing to Atsali and a scene of the two hugging each other while crying to make up.

[illiad]

Well, at least Katherine KNOWS what she signed up for... she knows that Pickle could lash out in a fit of anger and kill her... and that the ONLY thing protecting her against it is her "Mommy Voice" and no-nonsense attitude...

... and a simple lock on the door would fix it???? (yes, there are locks (for internal doors,that cannot be blocked by a key in other side!) that can be opened from outside with a key.. )

[lake_wrangler]

Was unable to find who said it, but whoever called for Kath to put 'Sali in timeout while she diffused our bundle of emotional thorns nailed it.

I wouldn't call that a timeout for Atsali... it's not so much "Go to your room and stay there until I tell you that you can come out", as much as ""go back to your room so I can have space to work on Castela safely". It's damage control, knowing that if she wants to calm Castela down, she needs to take the irritant (in this case, Atsali) out of the way for now, to encourage Castela to relax.

[zachariah]

Was unable to find who said it, but whoever called for Kath to put 'Sali in timeout while she diffused our bundle of emotional thorns nailed it.

That was me.

Kathryn actually has some things in her favor, starting with her promise to never leave Castela, that will help her calm the little vine down. Getting Castela to understand boundaries and personal space, and how her breaching Atsali's caused her to unthinkingly lash out, will be much tougher.

Remember Castela and Atsali shared a room in the orphanage, with Atsali as her acting big sister, and probably surrogate mother, so Castela is hurting more than from a spat in a normal family. This is a time when Kathryn will be transferring some of that bond to her, essential for when Atsali goes off on her own to a college/university and work.

Hopefully this will all end with Castela apologizing to Atsali and a scene of the two hugging each other while crying to make up.

Lot's of people called for Kathy taking charge. It's not a difficult call at all. The situation is what parents are supposed to deal with. The ones where the kids cannot handle it themselves. I doubt Kathy is in much danger at all. Pickle is hurt by Sali, not angry yet. So Kathy just goes in and listens and asks questions to lead pickle to the right mind set. Starting with a hug helps to.

They are less likely to eviscerate you while being hugged. It makes a mess of their clothes.

[Nimrod]

I find the way these two "kids" are written rather nice. They really are too far apart in mental age to expect continued civil interaction which is a pit-fall of many parents. When the gap is more than around 4 years their development will remain staggered enough to insure that one or both at any one time will physically lack the mental ability to sympathize with the other. The "Parent" role in this case is not to attempt to explain or reason back to a solution but rather prevent the situation from happening in the first place, to expect otherwise is not to honestly acknowledge the situation. - Yes, a simple lock on the door is the best solution in this case.

[illiad]

of course there are *reasons* why lots of 'kid proof' things exist... we have not yet seen her sitting on the floor, with the contents of 3 or 4 empty cereals packets all round her!!!

or how about sitting in your favourite $500 dress, covered with lipstick and ripped, she wanted to play dressup...

[eee]

Well, at least Katherine KNOWS what she signed up for... she knows that Pickle could lash out in a fit of anger and kill her... and that the ONLY thing protecting her against it is her "Mommy Voice" and no-nonsense attitude...

... and a simple lock on the door would fix it???? (yes, there are locks (for internal doors,that cannot be blocked by a key in other side!) that can be opened from outside with a key.. )

WOULD a lock fix it? A lock would be a more emphatic "STAY OUT, PICKLE!" sign; but unless the door is close fitted to the frame Castela could unravel down into vines and slither in through gaps or even the keyhole. She's a very difficult person to keep out of some place if she decides she wants in...

[jwhouk]

To think how far Katherine has come...

I doubt that even the most stubborn Blackthorn is going to keep her down.

[zachariah]

... and a simple lock on the door would fix it???? (yes, there are locks (for internal doors,that cannot be blocked by a key in other side!) that can be opened from outside with a key.. )

WOULD a lock fix it? A lock would be a more emphatic "STAY OUT, PICKLE!" sign; but unless the door is close fitted to the frame Castela could unravel down into vines and slither in through gaps or even the keyhole. She's a very difficult person to keep out of some place if she decides she wants in...

Neither lock or sign will stop pickle. She has clearly demonstrated that it means nothing to her. She has repeated gone into Sali's room to read her journal, use her phone to video Sali, look for snacks, etc. Sali and Kathy have talked to her about respecting each other privacy. But none of it has made an impression on Pickle. This time she just went into Sali's room. She didn't even know that the box of cookies was there, she just suspected it was. Then the whole invading her t-shirt to look!!!! Total invasion of privacy. The only way to keep her out of Sali's room is to hermetically seal it, MIB could do that. Or convince Pickle to stay out.

[Dave]

WOULD a lock fix it? A lock would be a more emphatic "STAY OUT, PICKLE!" sign; but unless the door is close fitted to the frame Castela could unravel down into vines and slither in through gaps or even the keyhole. She's a very difficult person to keep out of some place if she decides she wants in...

Good point there! In addition to the "don't understand personal boundaries yet" psychology that human children her age tend to have, Castela could also be showing the "motivating psychology" of her plant heritage as well. Vines and vining shrubs can be very invasive, and don't care a bit about any boundary that isn't enforced by flamethowers or hungry goats. They don't even notice boundaries! Think of kudzu, for example. Even the common Boston ivy can easily overrun a building or garden.

If Kath doesn't succeed in turning her behavior around, Atsali might end up calling her "Wineberry" rather than "Pickle".

I wonder whether the people who "bred" a senient Blackthorn were aware that giving their creation a vining habit would have this particular effect?

[Xiombarg]

The word 'Me' is missing from the thought bubble in panel 3.

I thought that, too. Hacked together a simple fix of it, if anyone might be interested (and the Artist/Author doesn't mind).

I think I'll wait to see if anything is made officially before I do anything rash, tho...